David Garrard

Although he hasn’t played in an NFL regular season game since 2010, David Garrard was hoping to make a comeback as recently as last August. Today, however, Garrard told Jaguars Today on 1010XL 92.5 in Jacksonville that he has decided to officially retire, and will do so as a Jaguar (Facebook link).

Garrard started 76 games for the Jaguars from 2002 through 2010 before catching on with the Dolphins in 2012 and the Jets in 2013. Injuries kept him off the field in both comeback attempts, and the 37-year-old has never played a regular season NFL contest for any team besides the Jaguars.

Over the course of his NFL career, Garrard had a winning record (39-37) as a starter, and earned a Pro Bowl berth for his performance in the 2009 season. Overall, he threw for more than 16,000 passing yards, compiled an 85.8 passer rating, and had an 89/54 TD-to-INT ratio.

David Garrard hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2010, but the veteran quarterback believes that he still has some quality football left in him. The 36-year-old told NFL AM (video link) that his agent reached out to the Rams after Sam Bradford‘s season-ending injury and he personally feels he’d be a good fit for them or another team looking for an experienced QB.

“I actually haven’t gotten any calls yet but my agent has reached out to the Rams and to a number of teams,” Garrard said. “They’ve all said they have me on their ‘hot list’ so I think probably something will happen after these last cuts once teams realize who is available, who is not available and then maybe somebody like myself can join a team.”

Garrard started 76 games for the Jaguars from 2002 through 2010. He hooked on with the Dolphins in 2012 and the Jets last year but injuries kept him off the field in both attempts. Now, Garrard says that his troublesome knee is feeling good after giving it some much needed rest. Teams aren’t beating down Garrard’s door to sign him, but in a league where Brett Favre reportedly had interest from the Rams just one year ago, anything is possible.

Even after the Vikings traded back into the first round of May’s draft to select Louisville product Teddy Bridgewater, the prevailing wisdom was that Matt Cassel would be the Week 1 starter at quarterback in Minnesota. Per Jay Glazer of Fox Sports 1 (Twitter link), that notion has held, as head coach Mike Zimmer has informed the Vikings’ players that Cassel will indeed open the season as the team’s No. 1 QB.

Zimmer himself confirmed the news to reporters, including Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (on Twitter), saying that Cassel was the favorite in the competition from the start. “Matt did not do anything to lose the job this preseason,” said Zimmer. “I think he’s played great. The team has a lot of confidence in him.” Through three preseason games, Cassel has completed 26 of 39 passes for 367 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, while Bridgewater has completed 26 of 40 pass attempts for 266 yards, four scores, and no picks.

On a macro level, this news means that no rookie quarterback will be his team’s Week 1 starter (unless Matt Schaub‘s injury lingers and David Carr is forced to take the reins for the Raiders). Chad Henne was chosen to start over Blake Bortles in Jacksonville, and Johnny Manziel lost out out Brian Hoyer in Cleveland. Still, I’d be surprised if two or three (or perhaps all four) of said rookies aren’t starting games by season’s end.

More notes from the NFC:

While Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appears ready to save a roster spot for Josh Brent, the defensive tackle likely won’t require an active roster spot when the NFL reinstates him. According to Ed Werder of ESPN.com, the league is expected to suspend Brent if and when he’s reinstated. “He’s not just going to walk back onto the field,” a source tells Werder.

Unhappy with incumbent Alex Henery, the Eagles had been scouting teams with a surplus of kickers, tweets Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Berman points to Dustin Hopkins, released by the Bills this morning, as one option for the Birds.

It’s unclear if he was simply being humorous, but David Garrard lobbied the Rams (via Twitter) to give him a call following Sam Bradford‘s season-ending injury. Garrard is 36 and has dealt with numerous injuries in the last few years — it’s highly doubtful St. Louis would be interested.